Page 6 of Echoes of a Forgotten Warrior (A Highland Ruse of Love #2)

5

T he sun was going down when Blaire, returning to her cottage after a day of visiting the sick in their homes, was so tired that she could hardly put one foot in front of the other. Usually, home visits were not too strenuous, but that day she had had to deal with an angry husband who had not wanted her to treat his wife, believing he could do it on his own by the power of prayer.

Blaire never argued with this, since she had discovered that it was a fruitless exercise. She never condemned people’s beliefs, since she felt that each person was entitled to his or her own opinion, but at the same time she could not leave someone helpless when she had the power to cure, or at least alleviate their pain.

Finally, she had won the argument and the man had allowed Blaire to treat his wife, but the whole encounter had taken two hours of her valuable time, meaning that she had to rush through the rest of her patients. She could have simply skipped the less serious ones, but it was not in her nature to leave things undone, and she could not, in good conscience, abandon her duties.

On the way down the street, she decided to look into the blacksmith’s shop, wondering if James was there. However, it was shut and locked, and she felt an unreasonable disappointment. She was sure that James was making progress, at least physically, and she could see the odd flicker of something in his eyes sometimes. Now and again she saw a pained expression on his face that told her he had almost caught a memory, but it had slipped away from him. At times like those she wished she could somehow wave a magic wand and make everything right, but she was not a magician, sad to say.

Now, Blaire was so tired that she decided to drop into the Lion and Lamb for a cup of ale and something to eat, since she had hardly had anything since breakfast and was too tired to cook.

When she entered, the landlady took one look at Blaire, then strode over to her. She put an arm around her shoulders and said, “Dinnae move, Blaire. Sit down an’ let me take care o’ ye. You look as if you’re about tae fa’ down.”

She went to the kitchen and came back with a glass of warm mulled ale, which she gave to Blaire, closing her hands around it. “Your hands are freezin’, hen,” she observed, frowning. “Now sit there an’ dinnae move. I have some nice mutton stew on the stove for ye.”

Ina bustled away, giving Blaire no chance to answer. She sipped her ale and sat back on the hard wooden chair, which now felt like a feather bed. If she closed her eyes, she knew she would fall asleep.

Ina brought her the stew, and it was only then that Blaire realised how hungry she was. “Thank you, Ina,” she said gratefully. “You’re too kind to me.”

“Nae bother, hen,” the landlady replied. “Rosie tells me ye work so hard that sometimes ye forget tae eat, so I thought ye might want somethin’ in your stomach. There’s nae need for payment—ye strapped my cut hand up a while ago an’ didnae charge me a penny, so I owe ye.” She smiled fondly at Blaire.

Blaire smiled widely. “You are too good to me, Ina,” she said, then began to tuck into the food. I happened to be delicious, although she knew that anything would have tasted wonderful in her current state!

When she had finished her meal, Blaire left to go home, but she had only gone a few yards when she heard her name being called, and turned to see James striding towards her. It was almost dark, but there was a bright half moon, and she could see him smiling at her. “I’ve been looking for you,” he told her.

“Have you remembered something?” Blaire asked hopefully. “Please tell me you have, James.”

James shook his head, wishing he had better news for her. “No,” he replied, “but I have something to tell you.”

Blaire was intrigued, and they walked up to her cottage, where they sat down in front of the fire. It was not lit, since she had been out all day, so the room was chilly. Blaire fetched one of her thick woollen blankets and draped it over both of them as they sat side by side on the couch. James put his arm around her and drew her closer still, making a warm cocoon out of the blanket and their bodies, then they sat quietly for a moment. He seemed nervous, Blaire thought.

“I wanted to let you know that Laird Sutherland is asking for more men,” he told her at last. “And I want to volunteer to fight for him.”

Blaire tossed off the blanket and jumped to her feet. “Are you mad, James?” she cried. She was absolutely horrified by his suggestion, since he was still suffering from the mental and physical scars for which she had treated him the last time he had emerged from the battlefield.

“You have not even recovered from the last time you went to fight! I remember when you came to me at first,” Blaire reminded him. “You were covered in cuts and bruises, some of them quite serious, and I was worried that your head wound would kill you. I had very little hope for you then, but you managed to pull through.

I thought I might have to have you carried out in a coffin, but somehow you survived, and I still have no idea how. I think it is because you are a fighter in every sense of the word, James. You fought off your enemies, and you fought off death.

You looked as though you had done battle with a whole army single-handedly, and I felt desperately sorry for you.

When you started to recover consciousness, I tried to spend as much of my time with you as I could. You were special to me even then, James. At first, I thought it was because I was feeling sorry for you, but as we talked, and I began to know you better, I realised that I had fallen for you.”

She paused to look into his eyes, trying to show him how sincere she was. “Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. I wanted to protect you then, and I want to protect you now, but I cannot do that if you try to throw your life away yet again. Didn’t you learn your lesson the first time? Wasn’t that punishment enough?”

For a split second he hesitated, unable to take in what Blaire had just said, then he said, “Blaire, you know how these things work. If I don’t offer my services, the Laird will come and conscript me now that I’ve recovered. That’s how it works. We belong to him, and you know that.”

Blaire knew this to be true. Every able-bodied man was obliged to do his duty to the local Laird, especially fit and able-bodied men of fighting age like James. However, he was not yet fit to do so; he had problems that no one could see, problems of the mind, and Laird Sutherland would neither understand them nor care about them. Like all the other men who fought on his behalf, James was just another piece of cannon fodder.

Blaire stood glaring at James furiously, having worked herself up into a rage.

James was silent. He could have said more, and tried to justify himself, but he was too stunned by the fact that Blaire had said she loved him! She actually loved him, a man who had no memory of who he was, no name, no past, without any guarantee that he might ever remember them. And despite all that, she loved him.

He stared at her in disbelief, then, before she could react, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. Blaire tried to push him away with a grunt of irritation.

“No,” she cried. “Leave me alone, James!”

James cupped his hands around her face and looked into her eyes deeply.

“Did you say you love me?”

She was mesmerised by his icy blue eyes, which always reminded her of the sky on a clear winter’s morning—stark contrast with his dark shoulder-length hair.

“Yes, I did, James,” she replied, trying to stay calm. “I did, but there is no future for us until this whole chaotic situation settles down. Neither of us is free. You still have so much to recover from, and I have too many responsibilities to make commitments. While this is going on, I have too much to do to be attentive to you.”

Blaire tried to push him away again, but James was having none of it. His gaze moved from the bright emerald green of her eyes to the soft fullness of her lips, which parted as he looked at them. He gave a desperate groan of need, then James swooped down and captured Blaire’s mouth in a passionate kiss that left them both reeling.

She clung to his broad shoulders and held on for dear life as her knees weakened, but James’s arms were holding her to him firmly. Blaire could feel the bulge of his manhood pressing against her, and it awakened a fierce and primitive need within her own body.

Presently, he lifted her off her feet and walked through to her bedroom, where he laid her down on the bed, less gently than he had intended, since he was frantic with need.

The bed was small, after all, it was only meant to fit one slender woman, but somehow he managed to lie down beside her. Blaire turned towards James and offered him her lips again. He took them eagerly and began to rub his hips sideways against hers. She whimpered with delight, never having felt anything so wonderful. The sweet pulse between her legs began to throb deliciously, and she gave herself up to the feeling, mirroring his movements with her own.

Blaire heard James’s breathing thicken, and she slid her hand down between them and rubbed the hardness of his shaft with the backs of her fingers, hearing him moan with delight.

She felt him pulling up the skirt of her dress and pulling down her drawers.

He kissed her lips softly, then he touched the sweetest, most sensitive spot on her body with his thumb, making her cry out while her hips bucked involuntarily off the bed.

James grinned with satisfaction as he watched Blaire writhe in pleasure under his skilful fingers, and somewhere in the back of his mind the shadow of a memory stirred. He had done this before at another time with another woman; he had definitely made love to someone else.

The thought encouraged him and gave him confidence, and after a moment, he plunged one finger, then another, inside Blaire’s willing body. Again, her hips bucked as she plunged her fingers into the thick hair at the back of his head and cried out, “James! Please!”

“What?” he asked gently. “What do you need, Blaire? I will do anything you want. Your wish is my command.”

“I don’t know,” Blaire breathed.

She saw the mischievous grin on James’s face, and knew that there was more to come—but how could this experience become any better? She was trembling and throbbing with pleasure already, but he was not finished yet.

James lifted Blaire’s skirt above her waist, spread her thighs and settled his head between her legs, then began to tease the sensitive nub of her clitoris with his tongue, licking, nibbling and sucking, until Blaire could not stand any more.

She closed her eyes as wave after wave of something so rapturous swept over her that she held on to James tightly for fear that it might sweep her away. She saw stars exploding inside her eyes as she threw her head back and screamed her pleasure to the heavens. She shuddered as the force within her took over, rendering her body completely impervious to her own will. She was helpless to withstand it.

James kissed her passionately, stifling her screams, and gradually Blaire began to return to earth. Her breathing slowed, and she opened her eyes as he drew away from her.

“Did I please you, my Blaire?” he asked, and his eyes were shining with love.

Blaire smiled and nodded. When she spoke, her voice was husky. “No, you did not please me, James. You thrilled me. I have never felt anything so wonderful.”

“I’m glad,” he murmured, placing a soft kiss on her lips. He stood up, but Blaire caught his hand to stop him walking away.

“I want to thrill you now,” she said, her eyes twinkling. She looked adorable, James thought.

“Do you know how?” James looked at Blaire with an expression that was half a smile and half a frown. He looked doubtful.

Blaire blushed hotly. “Rosina told me all about these matters.” She looked up at him and smiled. “Yes, I do know, James.”

Blaire said nothing more, but opened his breeches quickly. She was used to doing this because she had done it so many times for male patients, but she was unprepared for the size of the erection that sprang out to meet her.

Blaire heard James gasp as she took him in her hand and began to pull upwards, then more gently downwards, until he was moaning with pleasure. Then she took him in her mouth and felt his whole body tense as she began to circle the head of his shaft with her tongue, the same way he had done to her sweet spot.

It gave Blaire a great feeling of power to look up from her ministrations and see James’s expression of agonised enjoyment. He almost looked as though he were in pain, but she knew that was not what he was feeling—quite the opposite!

She withdrew for a moment to look up at him, and he gave a grunt of annoyance before she took him in her mouth again, and this time she did not stop.

He wouldn’t remember it of course, of course, but James did not think that he could ever have experienced the titanic climax Blaire had just given him before. It had been utterly and completely glorious.

“Did I thrill you?” Blaire asked, standing up.

“Oh yes,” James replied fervently, smiling widely at her. “It was heavenly.”

Blaire stepped away from him to wash her hands, and when she came back, James folded his arms around her protectively. He whispered her name and buried his face in the thick, luxuriant mass of her hair.

“Someday we will be truly one with each other,” James said lovingly. “Forever and ever.”

Blaire kissed him softly. “We will have a big house, and fill it with children,” she told him, smiling.

“I hope so.” James could think of nothing he wanted more—unless it was to find his name. Otherwise, what could they call their children?